Heroin antidote: Who should get to carry it?

CAMDEN, N.J.—Governments and clinics nationwide are striving to put a drug that can reverse an opiate overdose in the hands of more paramedics, police officers, even everyday Americans.

No one disputes that Narcan can help save people who have overdosed if it's administered in time though a shot or nasal spray.

But the drive to raise its profile has created tensions between those who say it could save potentially thousands of lives and critics who say the promise of a nearby antidote would only encourage drug abuse.

At least 17 states and the District of Columbia allow naloxone to be distributed to the public. At least 10 of those states allow for third parties, such as a family member or friend of an intravenous drug user, to be prescribed naloxone.